UCOL is pleased to have formalised its relationship with China’s Xi’an University last week. This follows two visits from UCOL in 2024, reciprocated with two from Xi’an University visiting UCOL across 2024 and 2025, marking the beginning of the collaboration.
Dean Rankin, UCOL’s Executive Dean Health & Humanities, says the partnership will be an international education collaboration in the areas of Creative Media, Art & Design and ICT (Software Development & Data Analytics), with the intention of our degree programmes being delivered within a joint institute.
UCOL Operations Lead Jasmine Groves says a formal signing ceremony took place on Monday, 8 September at 6.30pm NZT.
“I’m thrilled we’ve signed the ‘Cooperation Agreement to Establish UCOL Institute of Xi’an University’ yesterday. This is the next step for us to be able to submit a joint institution application to the Ministry of Education in China, and for UCOL to apply for approval to deliver our programmes overseas.”
In signing the documents, Dean Rankin and Stephanie West (Academic Portfolio Manager, Creative, Development & Transition) were both in person at
Xi’an University, while Jasmine Groves signed remotely from New Zealand, with others from UCOL’s Executive Leadership team in attendance.
“We are fully committed to making the joint institute a success,” says Groves.
“We’ve reviewed each other’s programmes and content, and both institutions are excited to work together and have a lot to learn from each other. We view this as a foundation for mutual growth, academic excellence, and the exchange of knowledge and ideas across cultures.”
“I look forward to this partnership becoming a long-lasting collaboration that opens new opportunities for our ākonga (students), enriches our academic communities and strengthens the bonds of friendship between New Zealand and China.”
Xi’an University’s Chief Executive equivalent, President Chen, said at the signing ceremony it’s a pleasure to partner with a highly regarded institution such as UCOL.
“We have always regarded open education as a core development strategy, actively seeking in-depth collaboration with high-level institutions worldwide, and striving to provide students with a high-quality education that is internationally competitive.
“This [signing] marks an important milestone in the collaboration between our two institutions and represents a strategic leap forward in our university’s internationalisation efforts.
“Today’s formal signing represents a powerful alliance based on shared educational philosophies and development visions... We will integrate our high-quality resources to jointly explore new models of international talent cultivation that combine the strengths of both Chinese and New Zealand education,” says President Chen.